Therapy

Family Counseling can be helpful, and sometimes imperative, in many situations. More rapid and lasting improvements can occur when the entire family system is in counseling together. Family can include parents and children, extended family, and significant others. Even when one family member appears to be experiencing the most difficulty, all family members are affected. Therefore, family counseling can provide support and coping skills for everyone.

Couples Counseling can be useful for couples that are dating, committed, married, or divorced. Intimate relationships can be challenging for many reasons, including communication differences, intimacy issues, financial stresses, cultural differences, conflicts, and parenting issues. Although relationship issues can be addressed with one person in session, more efficient and productive changes happen when both members of the relationship are present.

Divorce Counseling involves a couple separating from the relationship gracefully so each person can move forward. This is extremely important when children are involved, as it helps in healing and transition. Divorce counseling can also be helpful so former spouses can communicate directly to keep the children from being in the middle of adult conflicts.

Individual Counseling is available for adults, adolescents, and children. Goals will vary based on presenting issues and individual strengths. Change for the client can be facilitated within the relationship with the counselor. Individual counseling can be supplemented with the inclusion of other family members and significant others as needed.

Filial therapy involves teaching play therapy skills to parents and caregivers. Often, children become the focus of therapy and their caregivers are very capable of assisting them through their struggles. In order for this to happen, parents can undergo filial therapy training to learn the basic skills of play therapy. Research done regarding play therapy indicates that filial therapy may have stronger outcomes for the child and the family than does individual play therapy. One reason suggested is that parents and caregivers are not transitional people in the child's life, so he or she does not have to suffer the loss after the presenting issue is resolved.

Adolescents naturally experience many transitions as they grow physically, emotionally, and socially. Puberty and maturity into adulthood can go smoothly or tumultuously, and the teens and their parents need each other to navigate this transition. School or peer problems, substance abuse, trauma, anxiety, depression, eating or sleeping disorders, life or family changes, relationship issues, and sexuality are some of the issues with which adolescents and their parents may need additional help.

Parent Education can be provided as an adjunct to child and adolescent counseling, or can be provided as the primary reason to seek assistance. Each child and each parent is unique, so different approaches to parenting may be necessary for the different children in the family. Although there are times in which new parenting skills can be enough to support a child’s needs, parenting issues often naturally surface in families, couples, and individual counseling.

Blended Families and Stepfamilies experience unique adjustments as they negotiate new roles and relationships, and share time with biological and stepparents. These families face the challenge of co-parenting from more than one household, blending family traditions and rules, and learning to live cooperatively even when relationships may be strained. An additional supportive person, such as a counselor, can help families negotiate difficult transitions.

Foster and Adoptive Families experience many of the same day-to-day difficulties of other families, and may at times function as blended and stepfamilies do, but with additional challenges. Foster and adoptive families often include a child or children who have been involuntarily removed from the biological family for reasons of abuse or neglect. These children have many more emotional needs than other children, and foster and adoptive parents must learn new skills, strengthen the spousal relationship, and seek outside support as needed. Children who are in foster care and have been adopted have special attachment needs since they have lost their primary attachment figures, and often others. Support to foster and adoptive families is so important in avoiding any further attachment disruptions for the child.